This post is not about my Classé SSP 800, but rather pertains to my Classé CA-5300 amplifier.

I purchased this 105 Lb., 5 X 300-watt monster off Audiogon nearly two years ago. It has been in use for several hours a day nearly every day since.
The XLR and RCA cables are all from Blue Jeans cable.

I estimate something over 4000 hours of use and have had the clean filter notice appear twice which I indeed did.

The amp always worked and sounded great. The one minor oddity was when I powered the system down; about 15 to 30 seconds after everything was off the front speakers would emit a faint but noticeable 3 second tone. (almost a polite “fart” sound) That curious sound didn’t seem to have any effect on overall performance, so I just assumed this was this massive amp’s way of bleeding off some excess energy upon powering off.

About two weeks ago, while playing a Dolby Digital plus 5.1 movie on Netflix, my wife and I heard a brief sharp fairly loud static snap sound. Hmmm, what was that we wondered.

A close look at the cables and wiring found nothing amiss. I pondered if the static snap sound was due to unusually low humidity here in Georgia lately. I even brought the humidifier into the media room just to be sure.

Over the course of the next week we played both digital and analog sources via HDMI and RCA inputs.

Everything was fine except the static snap sound would reoccur about once every 3 to 5 hours. We would hear the sharp snap then everything was once again OK.

I ran the system level tones and everything was normal.

Today while muted with a 2 channel analog source selected, I heard a loud pop. The normally solid blue LED on the amp instantly began flashing red. Of course I powered down.

Following the Classé CA-5300 troubling shooting guide did not resolve the problem. At this point with the amp completely disconnected from speakers and the XLR line inputs, when the stand-by button was pressed, the amp responded briefly then the blue LED went out. The unit now does not respond to the stand-by button. If testing continuity is a valid test to check the fuse, I suspect the fuse in blown.

I fear the amp has an internal fault and will require repair.

The amp did communicate with the SSP 800 via the Classé CAN-Bus system but with a now dead amp the event log is unavailable.
Initially my plans to resolve my problem are:

• See if I can find a MDA slow-blow 12A 250V fuse locally
o Install the fuse, with nothing but the mains attached, and hit the stand-by button
o If the amp stays on and appears stable I will, power off, hook up the left and right front XLR line outs, then hook up an old pair if Minimus 7 speakers, stand back and hit the power button.
o I really don’t hold much hope this will be successful and even if it is, can I trust my amp will remain reliable?
• Assuming the problem is more than just a fuse I will contact Classé Service & Support.
o I sincerely hope I can have the amp repaired locally. An amp has to be a much simpler electronic device than a pre-pro to fix.
o I really don’t want to ship this off to Canada unless I absolutely have to (This unit and my SSP 800 were both produced in China)
o Obviously shipping and repair cost will weigh into the final resolution. Both my SSP and amp were purchased used so I can only assume a warranty repair not likely. (Come to think of it both were purchased and shipped from distant Classé dealers.)
o I am prepared to pay a fair price for a proper repair because my Classé system remains the best I have yet heard.
o An absolute last resort would be considering a Monoprice Monolith or an Emotiva multichannel amp, but what a horrible compromise that would be.

Good luck with your amplifier repair. It appears as if you may have had a capacitor let go in the amplifier. The loud pops were the warning for you. I've been there with the repair scenario as I had to ship my SSP-800 to Canada for repair. Not a huge deal, just the inconvenience of not having your system the way you want it to be. Best wishes in your adventure.

Hello everybody.
I write from Italy for the first time.
I'm sorry for my english!

I purchased the SSP-800 (HDMI 1.4) classé in Switzerland, last July, an ex demo product in warranty for two years.
I had both the SSP300 and the SSP600, so I wanted to take a step forward with the 800, but the problems started and I'm trying to solve with the CAT in Swiss.

Just arrived and mounted, the SSP was not receiving signals from the remote control; sent back and it came back nearly two months later with the problem solved.

Now I have problems with HDMI: very often the video signal from my satellite receiver, show me a very low definition or is not displayed at all (Panasonic ZT60 Plasma TV), forcing me to turn off and turn on the systems for several times.
Then, strangely, it does not work PCM audio sent through coaxial SPDIF from Oppo BDP95 to the SSP. I made several attempts but nothing happned, whereas before with the predecessors (SSP300 & 600) or other DAC I haven't had any problems.

ARC audio problem: I can not get to the audio from my TV (YouTube app, etc.) to the SSP.
We made several tests and, in this case, there is nothing to do, I have to use the toslink output on the TV if I want to listen to.

Led flashing standby: we can not understand why in a while, not every day, the standby LED gets flashing every time I turn it on from the back button... in any case, if I turn it on, it works without problems; only once time it gave me an error message.

At the end, but it is not a problem with the preamplifier: the hi-fi listening has not impressed me at all!
I had the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista that I had compared the SSP300 and I had not heard differences such as having to keep both, so I sold the Nu-Vista to then buy the SSP800 (big mistake!).

I am considering to sell it and buy... what?
I'm undecided between McIntosh, Anthem, Krell ... I do not know ...

Hello everybody.
I write from Italy for the first time.
I'm sorry for my english!

I purchased the SSP-800 (HDMI 1.4) classé in Switzerland, last July, an ex demo product in warranty for two years.
I had both the SSP300 and the SSP600, so I wanted to take a step forward with the 800, but the problems started and I'm trying to solve with the CAT in Swiss.

Just arrived and mounted, the SSP was not receiving signals from the remote control; sent back and it came back nearly two months later with the problem solved.

Now I have problems with HDMI: very often the video signal from my satellite receiver, show me a very low definition or is not displayed at all (Panasonic ZT60 Plasma TV), forcing me to turn off and turn on the systems for several times.
Then, strangely, it does not work PCM audio sent through coaxial SPDIF from Oppo BDP95 to the SSP. I made several attempts but nothing happned, whereas before with the predecessors (SSP300 & 600) or other DAC I haven't had any problems.

ARC audio problem: I can not get to the audio from my TV (YouTube app, etc.) to the SSP.
We made several tests and, in this case, there is nothing to do, I have to use the toslink output on the TV if I want to listen to.

Led flashing standby: we can not understand why in a while, not every day, the standby LED gets flashing every time I turn it on from the back button... in any case, if I turn it on, it works without problems; only once time it gave me an error message.

At the end, but it is not a problem with the preamplifier: the hi-fi listening has not impressed me at all!
I had the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista that I had compared the SSP300 and I had not heard differences such as having to keep both, so I sold the Nu-Vista to then buy the SSP800 (big mistake!).

I am considering to sell it and buy... what?
I'm undecided between McIntosh, Anthem, Krell ... I do not know ...

Thank you very much. Kind regards.
Matteo

Hello matteo83, welcome to the discussion.

Sorry you are having some problems. I am certainly not the foremost authority on the SSP 800 but let me attempt to offer a couple of things you might try.

Regarding your satellite receiver, my guess is the problem is with a setting in the satellite receiver and not in the SSP. I suggest you look at the resolution settings in the satellite box and make sure only the resolutions checked are ones you Panasonic will accept. (Nice TV btw, I have one in the living room.)

Regarding PCM audio and your Oppo, my first question is why are you using a coaxial SPDIF rather than HDMI audio. Coaxial digital will not transmit Dolby TrueHD, nor DTS HD Master audio. You can use the coaxial connection but you would have to choose the proper “connector” in the input setup menu to associate the input number with an audio connector (in this case a coaxial digital input.

Also from the Audio tab on the input set-up menu, you may want to look into the “Favorite Processing” selections to insure both 2 channel and multi-channel signals for each input result in the preferred setting, either stereo or a particular surround mode.

ARC audio is an enigma. I got it to work when combined with a cheap Best Buy Insignia TV, but I had to continually make changes in the TV menu to keep it working. I have also tried two Samsung TV’s one with ARC “any-net” and one with out and neither would work.

The flashing LED when using the “back button” is normal. The rear switch is a reset button and is not intended to be used daily.

I know the SSP 800 is a complex highly capable device. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, the learning curve can be steep and long.

Sorry you are having some problems. I am certainly not the foremost authority on the SSP 800 but let me attempt to offer a couple of things you might try.

Regarding your satellite receiver, my guess is the problem is with a setting in the satellite receiver and not in the SSP. I suggest you look at the resolution settings in the satellite box and make sure only the resolutions checked are ones you Panasonic will accept. (Nice TV btw, I have one in the living room.)

Regarding PCM audio and your Oppo, my first question is why are you using a coaxial SPDIF rather than HDMI audio. Coaxial digital will not transmit Dolby TrueHD, nor DTS HD Master audio. You can use the coaxial connection but you would have to choose the proper “connector” in the input setup menu to associate the input number with an audio connector (in this case a coaxial digital input.

Also from the Audio tab on the input set-up menu, you may want to look into the “Favorite Processing” selections to insure both 2 channel and multi-channel signals for each input result in the preferred setting, either stereo or a particular surround mode.

ARC audio is an enigma. I got it to work when combined with a cheap Best Buy Insignia TV, but I had to continually make changes in the TV menu to keep it working. I have also tried two Samsung TV’s one with ARC “any-net” and one with out and neither would work.

The flashing LED when using the “back button” is normal. The rear switch is a reset button and is not intended to be used daily.

I know the SSP 800 is a complex highly capable device. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, the learning curve can be steep and long.

Good luck!

Hello Jdeaton,
thank you for your reply.

In my satellite receiver, I can set the output resolution, and this is 1080i (it can output at 1080p).
Now I am trying another setting: I change from 1080i to "original resolution". We will se if something changing.

I am using HDMI cable from Oppo to SSP, but I am thinking to a hi-fi connection to listen to stereo signal, so I connected the XRL and the coaxial Spdif to compare and listen the difference: I don't hear difference between the two DACs.
Yes, I select my "Favorite Processing" in the menù.
Which would be the best connection for hi-fi? XLR or Spdif? Wich one have the better DAC?

I know that is normail flashing Standy Led while the SSP is starting... but it's not normal that the led flashing when the SSP started and it is in standby!
The rear power on/off button is not for reset the SSP; it's necessary to power off completly.

Regarding the Spidif versus XLR it will come down to cable preference. It appears you prefer Spidif? I'm sure that will influence your preference. Both connections are good choices. I have my Oppo BDP-105 playing thru a Monoprice HDMI cable, and Transparent Super XLR. I preferred the XLR slightly over the HDMI as it was so close it wasn't a huge change to worry about. Do you put your SSP-800 into standby when not using? My unit did something similar with not coming out of standby. after tapping the touchscreen. I also sent it back and waited patiently since I could use the Oppo player directly into my amp. No issues since then. Good luck I know it's frustrating. And for the record, the Classe sounded better to my ears, (sweeter and smoother mids and highs) into the amps than using the Oppo player.